Adelaide sits on
the eastern
shore of Gulf St
Vincent, in the
far south of
South Australia.
The streets of
Adelaide's
central business
district follow
a grid pattern,
which makes it
very easy for
visitors to find
their way
around. Victoria
Sq sits in the
centre of the
grid, and the
main street,
King William,
runs through it.
Although not the
geographical
centre of town,
Rundle Mall is
the shopping
centre of the
city, with the
big department
stores - Rundle
St's eastern end
has some of the
city centre's
best dining and
boutique
shopping. North Tce, running
parallel to
Rundle St, is
the city's
cultural centre,
a grand
boulevard lined
with a gallery,
museum, state
library and
university.

Travellers to Alice Springs, Australia can
expect to find accommodation of all types, from upmarket Alice
Springs hotels and resorts to more budget-focussed and unique
options. For your next holiday accommodation in Alice Springs,
make sure you check the regular and special offers on
hotels.com.au first. Wherever you’re staying, hotels.com.au
offers a huge range of Alice Springs hotels and Alice Springs
accommodation options.

Located in the
southeastern corner of Queensland,
Brisbane is a river city, situated 25km
(15mi) upstream from the mouth of the
Brisbane River. The compact city centre
is built along and between the looping
meanders of the river, making it easy to
explore on foot. Brisbane has plenty
of backpackers' hostels and there are
also quite a few well-priced hotels,
motels and self-contained apartments
within a few blocks of the city centre.
Most of the action, however, happens in
the inner suburbs. Brisbane's restaurant
and cafe scene has blossomed in recent
years and you'll find there's no
shortage of good eateries, many of which
have taken advantage of the balmy
climate and provide outdoor eating
areas.

Cairns shines with the carnival atmosphere of
travellers all year round and the city is positively booming.
Aside from limitless accommodation and dining options, markets,
culture, shopping and seaside atmosphere, Cairns' big drawcard
is its access to the outer tentacles of the Great Barrier Reef.
It's also a good base to discover Port Douglas, the Atherton
Tableland, Cape Tribulation and beyond. Cairns' CBD is in the
area between The Esplanade and McLeod
Street and Wharf and Aplin Streets. Reef
Fleet terminal is the main departure
point for reef trips. Trinity Wharf,
where long-distance buses arrive and
depart, is east of the CBD. Cairns train
station is hidden inside Cairns Central
Shopping Centre on McLeod Street. Local
buses (Sunbus) leave from the Lake
Street Transit Centre.

Canberra is often
described by Australians who haven't
been there as a boring town, full of
politicians, bureaucrats - and not much
else. But those who go there find
beautiful galleries and museums
clustered around a lake and cupped in
bushland. One of only two capital cities
in the world that have been built to a
premeditated design, Canberra is rather
eerily symmetrical. Placed about its
nice, planned combinations of straight
and curving streets are the old and new
Parliament Houses, the National Gallery,
and the National Museum.

The 'capital' of northern Australia is closer
to Jakarta than it is to Sydney, and closer to Singapore than it
is to Melbourne, so it should come as no surprise that it looks
outward to Asia as much as it looks inland to the rest of
Australia. Darwin occupies a compact area at the end of
a peninsula in the far north of the Northern Territory, west of
Arnhem Land. Most of what you'll want in central Darwin is
within two or three blocks of the main shopping centre, Smith St
Mall. The suburbs spread a good 12 to 15km (7 to 9mi) to the
north and east.

Travellers to Gold Coast, Australia
can expect to find accommodation of all
types, from upmarket Gold Coast hotels
and resorts to more budget-focussed and
unique options. For your next holiday
accommodation in Gold Coast, make sure
you check the regular and special offers
on hotels.com.au first. Wherever you’re
staying, hotels.com.au offers a huge
range of Gold Coast hotels and Gold
Coast accommodation options.

Hobart is Australia's
southernmost capital city; that it is
also the smallest is the key to its
particular charm. A river-side city with
a busy harbour, its mountain backdrop
offers fine views over the beautiful
Georgian buildings, numerous parks and
compact suburbs below. Perhaps
Australia's most stress-free and
engaging city, Hobart belies the
conservative and provincial reputation
it has amongst some mainlanders. There's
not a lot you won't find here; Hobart
has a thriving festival scene and a real
sense of history. For walking, eating
and just soaking in the atmosphere it
can't be bettered.

Melbourne is dubbed marvellous for a reason.
Healthy hedonism masquerades as high art: Melbournians are
equally passionate about football and ballet, fashion and
restaurants. They are ravenous for music and hot for theatre.
It's a smorgasbord of a city that you'll want to sink your teeth
into. A leafy bayside community on the
'upside-down' Yarra River, Melbourne is, by turns, cosmopolitan,
suburban, cultivated, conservative and an avant-garde haven.
Visitors come for its shopping, restaurants, nightlife and
sporting calendar; most agree that it's one of the world's most
liveable cities.

Perth is a vibrant
and modern city sitting between the
cerulean Indian Ocean and the ancient
Darling Ranges. It claims to be the
sunniest state capital in Australia,
though more striking is its isolation
from the rest of the country - Perth is
over 4400km (2750mi) from Sydney by
road. It's true that the city centre's
skyscrapers dominate a picturesque
riverside location. But behind the
towering edifices hide a handful of
19th-century buildings and facades, and
some saving-grace patches of greenery.
But these concerns fade in an instant
when you glimpse the famous beaches.

Sydney is Australia's
oldest city, the economic powerhouse of
the nation and the country's capital in
everything but name. It's blessed with
sun-drenched natural attractions, dizzy
skyscrapers, delicious and daring
restaurants, superb shopping and
friendly folk. Although it's come a
long way from its convict beginnings,
Sydney still has a rough and ready
energy, and offers an invigorating blend
of the old and the new, the raw and the
refined. While high culture attracts
some to the Opera House, gaudy nightlife
attracts others to Kings Cross.